Double Dungeons VCReview

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Not Double Dragon.

By Lucas M. Thomas

You're in a hallway. To the south is a wall. To the west is a wall. To the east is a torch &#Array; on a wall. You're facing north. Command?

There are fantasy dungeon-crawling games from the '80s with no graphical interfaces. They present only text. Only simple descriptions of your surroundings, and it's up to you to use your imagination to fill in the details. These games are limited, at best. But even the least of them is more engaging than Double Dungeons.

Whose idea it was to create this game is a mystery &#Array; if even a game it is. Double Dungeons appears to be an attempt to give a graphical presentation to those old text-based RPGs from the '80s, and comes across with a vibe very similar to playing one of those titles on an old PC. It has very little story, and what is there is laughable. It has very little gameplay, and what is there is laughable. It really has very little of anything, other than laughability.

You are the Warrior. Your king has dispatched you to one of 22 dungeons &#Array; 22 dungeons filled with endless parallel and perpendicular grey slate walls, and home to a few monsters here and there. You're there to find a chest. In the chest, a key. With the key, the way to the dungeon boss is opened &#Array; if you can press A enough to get there.

Because Double Dungeons' gameplay is basically just pressing the A Button. Come across a monster? A. You attack with no animation, only a flash of light and a sound effect. Find a chest? A. You open it and take its contents. Want to use an item? B, actually, then A. Eating apples and drinking potions will restore your health, though neither are entirely necessary.

Because you don't die in Double Dungeons. There's no Game Over screen. If you lose all your hit points, you're simply thrown back to the start of the current labyrinth. Your gold is taken away, but you keep your experience points &#Array; meaning it's only a matter of repetition and memorization to power yourself up and follow the proper path to grab the key, get to the boss door and take the beast down.

Double Dungeons is just way too simple. There's hardly anything to it &#Array; just walking around drab environments, facing boring enemies, for unknown purpose of plot. You'll occasionally stumble upon a shop. Operating a convenience store in the middle of an underground tomb must be a lucrative business. That breaks up the monotony a bit.

As does two-player mode. That's where the Double comes in &#Array; you and a friend can dungeon-crawl together, the screen split in the middle to accommodate twin first-person perspectives. But even having a buddy there with you, fighting slimes, spiders and sorcerers, doesn't salvage this experience. It's still far too basic, and not worth your time or effort.

The Verdict

Or money. Don't download Double Dungeons. Its 600 Point asking price is too steep for what's such a limited experience. As with nearly all old-school games from the late '80s and early '90s, Double Dungeons has its own dedicated fanbase of nostalgic supporters. But even they admit that this one's not worth it for new owners. Only pick this one up if you were a dedicated Double Dungeoner as a kid, and you want to play it again for laughs with your dad.